Clinton Announces Anti-gun Plan

January 18, 2000

In Boston, a city that drove its homicide rate down by using aggressive enforcement of firearms laws, President Clinton Tuesday called for $280 million worth of new steps to combat gun violence. The president said his package of proposals was designed to send an unambiguous message to criminals: "If you commit crimes with guns or violate gun laws, you will pay a heavy price." The new measures Clinton seeks -- 500 new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and inspectors and creation of a program to track guns through ballistics testing -- represents a subtle shift in administration strategy. The new plans for the budget for fiscal year 2001, which begins Oct. 1, represent an effort to invest more in enforcement of existing laws on the illegal use and possession of firearms, a priority for Republicans and groups such as the NRA.